Deuteronomy 33-34

 

Moses Blesses the Tribes

33 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. 2 He said:

“The Lord came from Sinai
    and dawned over them from Seir;
    he shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came with[a] myriads of holy ones
    from the south, from his mountain slopes.[b]
3 Surely it is you who love the people;
    all the holy ones are in your hand.
At your feet they all bow down,
    and from you receive instruction,
4 the law that Moses gave us,
    the possession of the assembly of Jacob.
5 He was king over Jeshurun[c]
    when the leaders of the people assembled,
    along with the tribes of Israel.

6 “Let Reuben live and not die,
    nor[d] his people be few.”

7 And this he said about Judah:

“Hear, Lord, the cry of Judah;
    bring him to his people.
With his own hands he defends his cause.
    Oh, be his help against his foes!”

8 About Levi he said:

“Your Thummim and Urim belong
    to your faithful servant.
You tested him at Massah;
    you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.
9 He said of his father and mother,
    ‘I have no regard for them.’
He did not recognize his brothers
    or acknowledge his own children,
but he watched over your word
    and guarded your covenant.
10 He teaches your precepts to Jacob
    and your law to Israel.
He offers incense before you
    and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless all his skills, Lord,
    and be pleased with the work of his hands.
Strike down those who rise against him,
    his foes till they rise no more.”

12 About Benjamin he said:

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,
    for he shields him all day long,
    and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”

13 About Joseph he said:

“May the Lord bless his land
    with the precious dew from heaven above
    and with the deep waters that lie below;
14 with the best the sun brings forth
    and the finest the moon can yield;
15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains
    and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
    and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among[e] his brothers.
17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull;
    his horns are the horns of a wild ox.
With them he will gore the nations,
    even those at the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim;
    such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

18 About Zebulun he said:

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
    and you, Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will summon peoples to the mountain
    and there offer the sacrifices of the righteous;
they will feast on the abundance of the seas,
    on the treasures hidden in the sand.”

20 About Gad he said:

“Blessed is he who enlarges Gad’s domain!
    Gad lives there like a lion,
    tearing at arm or head.
21 He chose the best land for himself;
    the leader’s portion was kept for him.
When the heads of the people assembled,
    he carried out the Lord’s righteous will,
    and his judgments concerning Israel.”

22 About Dan he said:

“Dan is a lion’s cub,
    springing out of Bashan.”

23 About Naphtali he said:

“Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the Lord
    and is full of his blessing;
    he will inherit southward to the lake.”

24 About Asher he said:

“Most blessed of sons is Asher;
    let him be favored by his brothers,
    and let him bathe his feet in oil.
25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze,
    and your strength will equal your days.

26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
    who rides across the heavens to help you
    and on the clouds in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
    and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He will drive out your enemies before you,
    saying, ‘Destroy them!’
28 So Israel will live in safety;
    Jacob will dwell[f] secure
in a land of grain and new wine,
    where the heavens drop dew.
29 Blessed are you, Israel!
    Who is like you,
    a people saved by the Lord?
He is your shield and helper
    and your glorious sword.
Your enemies will cower before you,
    and you will tread on their heights.”

The Death of Moses

34 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

5 And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. 6 He buried him[g] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit[h] of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 33:2 Or from
2. Deuteronomy 33:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
3. Deuteronomy 33:5 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel; also in verse 26.
4. Deuteronomy 33:6 Or but let
5. Deuteronomy 33:16 Or of the one separated from
6. Deuteronomy 33:28 Septuagint; Hebrew Jacob’s spring is
7. Deuteronomy 34:6 Or He was buried
8. Deuteronomy 34:9 Or Spirit

Deuteronomy 32:1–52

 Deuteronomy 32:1–52

English Standard Version

“Give ear, kO heavens, and I will speak,

and let lthe earth hear the words of my mouth.

 2  May mmy teaching drop as the rain,

my speech distill as the dew,

like gentle rain upon the tender grass,

and nlike showers upon the herb.

 3  For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

ascribe ogreatness to our God!

 4  p“The Rock, qhis work is perfect,

for rall his ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and swithout iniquity,

just and upright is he.

 5  They have dealt corruptly with him;

they are no longer his children tbecause they are blemished;

they are ua crooked and twisted generation.

 6  Do you thus repay the Lord,

you foolish and senseless people?

Is not he vyour father, who wcreated you,

who xmade you and established you?

 7  yRemember the days of old;

consider the years of many generations;

zask your father, and he will show you,

your elders, and they will tell you.

 8  When the Most High agave to the nations their inheritance,

when he bdivided mankind,

he fixed the borders1 of the peoples

according to the number of the sons of God.2

 9  But the Lord’s portion is his people,

Jacob his allotted heritage.

 10  “He found him cin a desert land,

and in the howling waste of the wilderness;

he dencircled him, he cared for him,

he ekept him as the apple of his eye.

 11  fLike an eagle that stirs up its nest,

that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings, catching them,

bearing them on its pinions,

 12  gthe Lord alone guided him,

hno foreign god was with him.

 13  iHe made him ride on the high places of the land,

and he ate the produce of the field,

and he suckled him with jhoney out of the rock,

and koil out of lthe flinty rock.

 14  Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,

with fat3 of lambs,

rams of Bashan and goats,

with the very finest4 of the wheat—

and you drank foaming wine made from mthe blood of the grape.

 15  “But nJeshurun grew fat, and okicked;

pyou grew fat, stout, and sleek;

qthen he forsook God rwho made him

and scoffed at sthe Rock of his salvation.

 16  tThey stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;

with abominations they provoked him to anger.

 17  uThey sacrificed to demons that were no gods,

to gods they had never known,

to vnew gods that had come recently,

whom your fathers had never dreaded.

 18  You were unmindful of wthe Rock that bore5 you,

and you xforgot the God who gave you birth.

 19  y“The Lord saw it and spurned them,

because of the provocation of zhis sons and his daughters.

 20  And he said, a‘I will hide my face from them;

I will see what their end will be,

for they are a perverse generation,

children in whom is no faithfulness.

 21  bThey have made me jealous with what is no god;

they have provoked me to anger cwith their idols.

So dI will make them jealous with those who are no people;

I will provoke them to anger with ea foolish nation.

 22  For fa fire is kindled by my anger,

and it burns to gthe depths of Sheol,

devours the earth and its increase,

and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 23  “ ‘And I will heap disasters upon them;

hI will spend my arrows on them;

 24  they shall be wasted with hunger,

and devoured by plague

and poisonous pestilence;

I will send ithe teeth of beasts against them,

with the venom of jthings that crawl in the dust.

 25  kOutdoors the sword shall bereave,

and indoors terror,

for young man and woman alike,

the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

 26  lI would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;

mI will wipe them from human memory,”

 27  had I not feared provocation by the enemy,

lest their adversaries should misunderstand,

lest they should say, n“Our hand is triumphant,

it was not the Lord who did all this.” ’

 28  “For they are a nation void of counsel,

and there is ono understanding in them.

 29  pIf they were wise, they would understand this;

they would qdiscern their latter end!

 30  How could rone have chased a thousand,

and two have put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock shad sold them,

and the Lord had given them up?

 31  For ttheir rock is not as our Rock;

uour enemies are by themselves.

 32  For their vine vcomes from the vine of Sodom

and from the fields of Gomorrah;

their grapes are grapes of wpoison;

their clusters are bitter;

 33  their wine is the poison of xserpents

and the cruel venom of asps.

 34  “ ‘Is not this laid up in store with me,

ysealed up in my treasuries?

 35  zVengeance is mine, and recompense,6

afor the time when their foot shall slip;

for bthe day of their calamity is at hand,

and their doom comes swiftly.’

 36  For cthe Lord will vindicate7 his people

dand have compassion on his servants,

when he sees that their power is gone

and there is none remaining, ebond or free.

 37  Then he will say, f‘Where are their gods,

gthe rock in which they took refuge,

 38  who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let them rise up and help you;

let them be your protection!

 39  “ ‘See now that hI, even I, am he,

and there is no god beside me;

iI kill and I make alive;

jI wound and I heal;

and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

 40  For kI lift up my hand to heaven

and swear, As I live forever,

 41  if I lsharpen my flashing sword8

and my hand takes hold on judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

and will repay those who hate me.

 42  I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and mmy sword shall devour flesh—

with the blood of the slain and the captives,

from the nlong-haired heads of the enemy.’

 43  o“Rejoice with him, O heavens;9

bow down to him, all gods,10

for he pavenges the blood of his children11

and takes vengeance on his adversaries.

He repays those who hate him12

and cleanses13 his people’s land.”14

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and qJoshua15 the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, r“Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, sthat you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, tbut your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Moses’ Death Foretold

48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up uthis mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as vAaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 wbecause you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For xyou shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

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